By DuoLordofDeath
Disclaimer: Nope, Harry Potter and all associated aspects aren't mine!! They're J.K. Rowling's! ^_^
~Chapter One~ - The Vanishing
Four years…had it really been that long? It seemed like only yesterday that he, Hermione, and Harry had been first years at Hogwarts; anxious as they listened to the Sorting Hat's rousing song; and fearful as they cautiously stepped up to the dirty old hat and slipped it on. Four years…it seemed like an eternity to Ron Weasley; four years since they had stepped from the grounds of Hogwarts for the last time, at the very end of their seventh year.
"I think I'm even beginning to miss Professor Snape, Pig!" he said wryly as his tiny grey owl, Pigwidgeon, flitted in from a nearby open window, snow-covered and lugging a letter that was twice his size. With a chuckle, Ron took the letter from his owl's tiny talons and looked at the address, hoping against hope that it had been sent from the one person who had not kept in touch. Harry hadn't responded to Ron's nor Hermione's letters in nearly two years; which was very odd for him; Harry was never that inattentive. But as he glanced at the neatly scrawled handwriting on the envelope, Ron's heart sank. He recognized Hermione's neat writing, and he silently opened it after handing Pigwidgeon a bit of food for such good service. He ate sparingly at his breakfast as he read the letter, which merely said that Hermione had accepted his invite to come by during the Christmas break to visit him. With a sigh, he put the letter back into the envelope; he promised himself he'd respond to her later.
Running a hand through his vibrant red hair, Ron finally arose from the table and walked into his room, laying the letter on his old, beat-up dresser. He smiled a bit at the sight of an old Chudley Cannons poster he had brought with him from The Burrow; but jumped from his reverie to grab a piece of parchment. He then sat down and dipped the tip of the quill he had found into a small pot of ink, then wrote back to Hermione, thankful that she had accepted his invitation. As he sealed the letter to his dear friend, a screech of another owl, obviously not Pigwidgeon, echoed from a window across his small room. With a start, he turned quickly, his blue eyes finding a rather large tawny barn owl flying there holding what seemed to be a newspaper. Laying his quill aside, he went over to the window and opened it, letting the larger bird inside. He pulled out the few Sickles he had tucked away in his slightly disheveled forest green robes and handed them to the hooting owl, and in turn received the paper.
After the owl had flown off, Ron went back to his daydream and opened the latest copy of the Daily Prophet, sighing as he stepped over to his bed and flopped dejectedly onto it. With a slight flick of his wrist, he straightened out the paper and took notice of the large moving photograph that was splashed upon the front page. The headline above it screamed out to Ron like a siren; his wide azure eyes were glued onto the flashy words that streaked across the top.
"HARRY POTTER – VANISHED!! By Rita Skeeter" it read; and as soon as Ron's eyes trailed the words, "Rita Skeeter", he let out an audible groan. That was enough to tell him that most of this article was probably a load of bunk, but when his eyes caught the active photograph again, something caught his eye. In the picture was his brother Percy, (the new Minister of Magic) with other Ministry members flanking him inside a house, looking over things. In a far corner of the photo, almost indiscernible, there was a small picture sitting on the desk, moving as well. Ron knew that photo well, even though it was tiny. He had the very same photo right next to him on a dusty nightstand. It was a picture of him and Harry on graduation, waving and grinning at Hermione, who was taking the picture. As he saw this, he felt something clench at his heart; something that compelled him to read the article.
Many of the so-called facts WERE a load of crud; this Ron knew for a fact; such as Harry had run off with his long-time sweetheart Hermione Granger and were enjoying a nice honeymoon somewhere around the Equator. Ron just had to laugh at that assumption. But the basic outline of the article, that Harry Potter had vanished without a trace, was unsettling to Ron. He had never told anyone, not even Hermione, that he had feelings for Harry; he felt that it had been too risky, their friendships meant too much to him. So he had kept it bottled up inside for seven years, ever since the end of their fifth year. However, even he had to admit that it had been hell trying to keep it hidden, especially from the perceptive mind of Hermione and Harry's keen eyes. With a last glance at the snapshot in the paper, he wadded it up carelessly and tossed it aside. He let himself sprawl unceremoniously across his bed, his slightly worn robes cascading out a bit as he did so.
Ron let his eyes grace the ceiling for a moment, blowing a few strands of his fiery red hair from his forehead gently, then turned his head to face the framed picture on his desk that was full of motion and activity. He couldn't help but smile; his photographed version was successfully and triumphantly ruffling Harry's already messy hair with a great grin on his face, while Harry was laughing and ineffectively attempting to bring Ron off of his shoulders. Ron picked up the frame and stared at it for a few moments, letting the memories wash over him. But they were clouded quickly by a stubborn question that was relentless in leaving Ron to his reminiscences.
"Where are you, Harry?"
"Well, Pig, Happy Christmas…it's not like Hermione to be late. Ah well, I'm sure she'll get here soon." Ron sighed a bit as he finished signing a letter to his family (They were off in Romania visiting Charlie; Ron had told them that he would be there a bit late.), then put it in the tiny owl's beak. With an excited hoot, Pigwidgeon flew about his head exuberantly then went out the nearby open window; which was letting snow in at an amazing rate. Cursing to himself a bit loudly, he walked into the main room and flopped into a chair, waving his wand at the window. It shut with a creak of protest, and Ron sighed, his thoughts again drifting to his missing friend.
"C'mon, Ron, pull yourself together." He gave himself a wry smile. "If I keep worrying like this, I'm going to end up talking to myself."
"Well, Ron, it seems that you've already become a basket case," came a familiar female voice from behind him. Ron jumped a mile and turned around to find himself looked directly into the glimmering russet eyes of one Hermione Granger. She was perfectly dry and not a bit cold it seemed; and was regarding Ron's surprised look with amusement.
"Hermione!? Did you…wait…did you get your Apparition license?" Ron managed to say as he stood, trying to regain a bit of lost composure. Hermione looked extremely pleased with herself.
"Well, a Happy Christmas to you too!" Hermione replied in mock outrage. She chuckled a bit and continued. "Yes, I did! Just last week! It makes getting around so much easier, and less unsystematic as using Floo Powder. You should try to get yours, Ron! It might come in handy one of these days."
Ron scowled a bit. "Floo Powder's not that unreliable."
"I bet your parents weren't saying that when Harry got sent down Knockturn Alley before second term, were they?" She said slyly, a bit of a smile upon her lips.
Ron blanched. "Yeah yeah…I guess you're right…" Once again, he had lost to Hermione's logic; it wasn't the first time, after all. But the mention of Harry brought about a silence for a few moments, which was shattered by a soft sound that was coming from the back of Ron's house.
"What was that?" he asked no one in particular, and together, he and Hermione hurried towards the back of the house. He shuffled around the bottom of a dingy closet, a bit of light coming from the tip of his wand. Hermione was running through a few dusty cupboards with her wand, causing different items to levitate in the air as she looked. Ron was having less luck; he was sneezing lightly in the dust as he rummaged under a shelf in the closet.
"LOOK! Out there!" cried Hermione's voice suddenly, starling Ron again so much that when he jumped and tried to sit up, he smacked the back of his head into the underside of the shelf. He let out a disgruntled yelp; although the things that were sitting around him muffled it.
"Owww! What are you going on about now?" he asked as he withdrew his head from the dark interior, rubbing his dusty head gently in pain as he stood. Hermione was pointing out the window out into the area behind his house, right before the forest started with surprise.
"Oh, do quit your complaining and get over here, Ron!" she said impatiently, and when he finally made it over there, he glanced out the window into the smooth, snowy ground and saw what Hermione was talking about. Laying out a few feet from the window was a medium sized dog of some sort, its black fur silhouetting it against the stark white ground. It was making a soft barking sound identical to the sound that had brought the two back here searching. A very faint trail of blood led up to the dog's position; and Ron's first thought was of Sirius Black, Harry's godfather who also happened to be an unregistered Animangus. But he quickly refuted that thought; this dog was much smaller than the large black canine that Sirius transformed into.
"C'mon, Hermione, we can't just leave it out there to freeze," Ron said quickly, already knowing that Hermione was thinking the very same thing. They ran out into the freezing cold, and while Ron scooped the animal up into his warm arms, Hermione conjured up a heat giving yet harmless flame with her wand. They rushed back inside and laid the poor freezing dog on a soft chair.
"Man, this little guy must've been wandering through the forest for a long time, he's all beat up and worn out," Ron stated, regarding the sad shape the dog's fur was in. It was matted and messy, full of unmelted snow and, on its legs, a bit of dried blood.
"Don't just stand there gawking at him, Ron! Cast a healing spell; I'll start a fire!" Hermione scolded, once again taking charge. With an exasperated sigh, Ron looked at his friend then turned back to the dog, taking out his wand.
"Sano Velociter," he said quickly, waving his wand gently at the dog. A stream of silvery blue shot out of the end of his wand and surrounded the quieted animal, which didn't make a move. This piqued Ron's curiosity; he had been afraid of frightening the injured animal. But it seemed to know that he was being healed. After the spell had worked itself out, Hermione turned to face Ron and looked impressed with his handiwork, or rather, wandwork.
"Not bad, Ron! He's looking better already!" She quickly conjured up something for the dog to eat, then put it near the animal, who was just about to fall into a slumber. His ebony coat was still a mess, but the wounds were not longer plaguing him, and he looked a bit more peaceful.
"Well, it seems I've got a new dog, hey Hermione?" Ron said after a few minutes of regarding the animal.
Hermione smiled a bit. "What are you going to name him then? Like Hagrid once said, "He's got to have a name now, don't he?' "
Ron looked thoughtful for a moment, tapping his wand listlessly against his thigh. He glanced at the dog again; this time regarding the messy black fur that covered the animal and smiled.
"Harry seems fitting, don't you agree?"
~*Chapter Two Coming Soon!*~
